So, my Apple Watch, which I ordered about 20 minutes after they went on sale—on a dodgy connection from a cafe in China—finally arrived. Apple's initial delivery estimate just said June. That changed about two weeks ago to a window between 24-30 June but suddenly, last Friday, showed it was preparing to ship. I tracked it over the weekend and it was waiting for me when I got home on Monday evening.
The Space Black model I'd chosen seems to be the last of the (non-Edition) Watches to ship, but it was worth the wait: A fairly hefty chunk of stainless steel, coated with a Diamond Like Carbon layer (see also here for a good background), the Space Black Watch snakes around your wrist beautifully and is just heavy enough for me to know that it's there without it becoming tiring to wear. If you like a lighter watch, this one isn't for you. Go for the (still lovely) aluminium Sports model in Space Grey instead and you'll hardly notice it.
After just two full days of wearing it I'm still a way off being ready to write a full review (if indeed I get around to that at all), but I have a few quick thoughts:
1. Battery life is good. The first day (I'd charged it overnight without running it all the way down) I was on 2% when I turned in and put it to charge. Yesterday I went to bed with it still showing 30%+ remaining. Both days I'd used it lots. It occurs to me that a future Watch that I can wear overnight for sleep tracking needs a long battery life less than it needs a rapid charge cycle.
2. Taptics/haptics are great, but I need the "prominent" setting on to really notice notifications consistently. In some cases I still miss them.
3. The "raise wrist" thing works beautifully for me. It's almost magic, and the screen comes on perfectly quickly enough for me to check the time quickly. Yeah, it'd sometimes be nice to glance without moving my arm, but that's usually when I'm typing and there's a clock on screen.
4. It's a much simpler device than some reviewers have said. I think they're over-thinking it.
Anyway, I'm very much liking wearing this so far. More updates as I settle into it.